In our family, we always have the best of intentions when it comes to fulfilling spiritual responsibilities on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Sometimes life gets busy. Other times it's easy to forget when distracted by life's adventures. My husband and I realized it would benefit everyone in the house to have a visual reminder and a way to check ourselves.

This led to the creation of My Spiritual Responsibility List which I am sharing with you as a free printable. There are two color options for each age group, to better meet the personality needs of each person. The printable includes lists for:

Primary Children (Ages 8-12)

Youth (Ages 12-18)

Single Adults

Adults with Families

Each responsibility list is broken down into three parts.

Daily Responsibilities

Weekly Responsibilities

Monthly Responsibilities

There are extra spaces in each category for anyone who feels the need to add extra responsibilities to their checklist.

Daily Responsibilities

Daily responsibilities include personal and family prayers along with scripture study. Everyone is also reminded to pray at meal time.

Weekly Responsibilities

Weekly responsibilities vary depending on age. All include attending church meetings and participation in Family Home Evening. Youth are also encouraged to participate in mutual activities and seminary when age appropriate. Single adults are encouraged to participate in an institute class. All adults are encouraged to read Sunday School lessons.

The Spiritual Responsibility Chart is not just a checklist to use in order to check off what we "have to" do. It's a visual reminder of all of the opportunities we have to receive blessings from our Heavenly Father. With each responsibility we're able to fulfill, we become that much closer to our Savior and receive the inspiration and guidance He's waiting to give us.

Having visual reminders to help me fulfill spiritual responsibilities when life becomes chaotic and busy is a life saver! If you'd like to have your own spiritual responsibility chart, click on the subscriber's link below. This is a subscriber's only freebie. Once you subscribe to our free weekly newsletter, you will be taken to a page where you can access the printable for download and printing.

Some people say it will turn out all right in the end. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Think positive. Work hard. Don't give up. It will get better.

I've tried all that. There are some times in life when thinking positive thoughts isn't enough. No matter how hard you work and how long you hold on, things don't get better. You just learn to survive.

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Experience

This isn't my first rodeo. I've felt this way before. Knowing I've been here and survived is the only thing that gives me hope.

Mind you it doesn't change the result. There's nothing I can do that will change how things are. This is one of those scenarios that just is. I am here to accept it and live through it. And yes I'm fairly certain I will live through it, but I can't help but wonder at what cost.

The first time I experienced this feeling was when my son Bulldozer was physically ill. He couldn't eat. No one slept. We went 18 months with no definite answers. There were so many doctors, specialists, therapists and tests.

In the end no one could fix what was. No wishful thinking would change what the doctors discovered And so we learned to survive with it all. Day in and day out we lived an still do.

Our son is alive and well and we are thankful for that. His challenges have become normal to us as we've done what we need to do to accommodate them. But they're still there. The heavy burden is real.

Hell

I was asked today what we've been up to lately. As I pondered what to say, I realized we've been doing one thing and one thing only, enduring something that can only be described as hell.

What other word can one use to describe being the parent of an innocent child who is absolutely helpless in the battle against mental illness?

Mental illness is the devil. Not literally, but it certainly feels that way. It's dark thick spirit creeps into the healthy brain and takes it for ransom. There is no freedom to be had.

No medication out there is strong enough to truly cast it out for good. It always comes back to torture the brain again and again.

I can think of no one on this planet who deserves this type of anguish. There is no innocent child or experienced adult who warrants this type of abuse. Yet it comes and ruins so many lives. The torture is real.

Thinking positive won't do a darn thing.

And so I sit here with tear stained cheeks grieving what was, what is, and what will be. There are not enough positive thoughts on the planet to take away the sorrow I feel for my daughter and the heavy burdens she carries.

There isn't enough love in the universe to heal our hearts. Her's and mine. There are only holes that can be patched up again and again, just to burst open bigger and wider once more.

How to Survive

So what do you do? How do you keep living? What is the secret to survival in circumstances such as these, when you feel robbed of everything good? Here's what's worked for me.

1. Celebrate Everything

I remember a plaque that hung in our living room for years. My husband gave it to me for Christmas when Bulldozer was still an infant. It said,

"Until further notice, celebrate everything."

And that's what we did. We celebrated every holiday and occasion known to man. If we didn't have an official reason to celebrate we'd make one up. Why? We needed a reason to wake up everything morning. My husband and I couldn't handle living the same miserable life day in and day out. There was no happiness there and so we created our own.

Lately, I've found myself needing to do this again. It's the reason I go to bed at night and wake up in the morning. I need to celebrate something.

2. Selfishness

So many people preach about self-care and taking time for yourself. But there are times when you can't because there is no one else that can do what you're doing. There is no one else able or willing to fight the devil himself when he rears his ugly head taking possession of that innocent little body. There is no one who can comfort the sick child who's only wish is to feel relief. That is, except you.

Self-care.

Respite.

They're not an option.

But selfishness is.

Selfishness will always be there. It's one of those things that shies away when so many other feelings are present. But in those moments when you can't take care of yourself and are in the depths of despair, not able to think of a single positive thought, selfishness will come to the rescue, and it will safe you from losing yourself.

Don't be afraid to be selfish in the darkest of moments when in circumstances you can't change or control. You are worth it. If the person you were caring for could function and have a say, she'd tell you the same thing.

Years ago, I decided I wasn't going to do dishes anymore. The chore is my least favorite. So, I chose to stop. My husband does them now. There are days when they're not done. Sometimes we use paper plates. But I don't do the dishes. I refuse all because I'm being selfish. And that's perfectly fine.

Note: On rare occasions I do wash dishes as an act of kindness towards my husband or to help with the holiday clean up process.

3. Laugh

When thinking positive isn't enough to take the anger away or bring a smile to your face, choose to laugh instead. Whether it be that you laugh over the sick joke that you call life right now, or you laugh so you won't cry anymore, it will help. I promise, because I have done both.

Search for reasons to laugh. Watch YouTube clips. Find a comedy show on TV. Scroll through your facebook feed. Anything will do, as long as you laugh.

Laughter won't take the pain away. It won't rid you of the negative emotions, but it will remind you that you're human. You can still feel the bad and the good. And you just never know, you may cry happy tears for once.

Each day I take time to scroll through my facebook feed looking for funny video clips. I watch them. I laugh. I share them and then I make my husband watch every single one. Lol. When I can't find something funny, my husband and I watch a comedy on TV.

4. Find Something Positive to Control

When all is lost and there's no controlling the outcome of life's circumstances, it's so important to find something positive to control. There is so much negative energy inside you. If you can just spin it into something positive you can endure through hell and ultimately survive it.

I write when I'm at my worst. In the past year alone I have published two books. Both were a result of negative energy inside of me. I could control the writing process. Each chapter was created by me. Writing was something no one could take away from me.

Fight

All of us will have times in life when thinking positive isn't enough. We can choose to let these times defeat us, or we can fight back with all of the exhaustion, anger, and discouragement we feel. Though the emotions are negative, they are strong and can win.

In our family these times result from physical and mental illness in our children. Others may experience the loss of a loved one or something completely different.

During these times you don't need to be a hero. You don't need to save the day. All you must do is survive. Create a reason to celebrate. Be selfish. Laugh. Find something positive to control.

Just keep living. Things may not be okay. Life may be miserable. You may feel pain and inconsolable heart ache. But if you survive it, well then you've found a reason to celebrate when others can't. That means something.

We have discovered that one of the best ways to teach our children social skills (and a whole lot of other stuff) is through service. There are so many wonderful lessons learned. The experiences are unforgettable.

This month we're starting another year's worth of monthly service projects. The service projects are designed for families with children of all ages and abilities.

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Here's what we're doing!

Month 1: Sponsor a Refugee Family

Our family has sponsored a refugee family from Iraq through the Interfaith Works of Central New York. This experience has been absolutely amazing. Sponsoring a family includes cleaning and setting up a home for the refugee family before they arrive. (The home is selected through the organization. We donate items for various rooms in the house.)

You then have the option of meeting the family at the airport and spending time with them once they arrive. Our family did meet the refugees at the airport. We visited them at their home and spent time with them doing other things like going to the zoo etc. This was such a fun and unique experience.

Month 2: Helping the Homeless: On the Go Bags

Whether you keep these kits in the car for when you happen to see a homeless person on the side of the road or while at the grocery store, or you donate them to a homeless shelter, they're such a great way to help those in need. Bulldozer has been particularly interested in helping the homeless lately.

Month 3: Giving the Gift of Christmas to a Family in Need

This is not a new tradition in our home. Each year we select a family in need to give the gift of Christmas too. We purchase gifts for them, donate items for a Christmas dinner, and more. On Christmas Eve we play Santa, leaving the items on the doorstep for them to find.

Month 4: Winter Cold Survival Kit

How often do we know of people struggling with the stomach bug, flu, or other illnesses? Why not create a Get Well Survival Kit for them? The items you choose depend on the type of ailment that the person is experiencing.

Month 6

Last year my kiddos lost their great grandmother. Their great grandfather lives alone in a retirement community several states away. When I came across this idea, I instantly fell in love as it's away for the kiddos to show their great grandfather they're thinking of him, as well as many other seniors they've come in contact with.

Month 7

As always, our year's worth of service projects includes a service project for animals. This time we're creating Happy Socks using socks we can't find matches to from home, polyfill and catnip. We'll deliver the Happy Socks to our local SPCA.

Month 8: Honoring Soldiers of War Who Have Passed

Once again this is not a new service project for our family, but one we do each year around Memorial Day. There is a cemetery behind our house. We go walking there often and look at all of the stones of those that have passed. The kiddos take particular interest in soldiers and love to discover what wars they have fought in.

As we pass these graves, we leave a flower and/or flag to honor them. There are so many who's plots have been forgotten.

Month 9: Bury Treasure at a Playground

There is a fabulous playground near where we live with a gigantic sand box for all to play in. When I saw this idea, I knew it would be perfect. The kiddos would have so much fun and other kiddos would enjoy it as well.

Month 10

When I came across this article I instantly fell in love with the idea of creating Happiness Rocks and spreading them around the community for people to find. The kiddos are great at finding rocks and I love the art aspect of the project.

Month 11

One of my dearest friends from college has spent years at a children's hospital while her children were being treated there. As we prayed for this family my kiddos became very aware of the fact that there are many children in hospitals all over the world. They wanted to help.

When I came across The Hero Project, I knew this was the perfect way to help. My kiddos LOVE superheroes. Capes are all the rage here. The best part about the project is that there are step by step instructions for no-sew capes! We're so excited about this!

Month 12

We don't go anywhere without busy bags for Sunshine. They're quite the necessity. When I stumbled upon the idea of making busy bags for families who may need to spend time at the hospital, I knew that was something we could do. Whether it's a busy bag for an adult or a child, they'll be quite fun to put together. To ensure they're used we'll be on the prowl looking for a family who will need them.

Wow! I can't believe we're ready to dive into another year of family service projects. The memories we make as we complete each task are so powerful and life changing. We hope you can join us!

Each one of my children has had a difficult time when it's come to food and issues involving food. First there was Dinomite who refused to nurse after the first week. Feeding him bottles went no better. Don't even get me started on solids. By the age of 18 months the doctor was saying that if Dinomite didn't start gaining weight we were going to have to do something drastic.

From the moment Bulldozer was born there were food issues. To put it bluntly the poor kid couldn't eat. There were doctors, specialists, therapists and more all on the case. And then once those issues were resolved another layer of issues came to the forefront.

Princess came to us not knowing how to eat. Once she became proficient at it, she refused to eat. Food related trauma is a nasty thing. Even now she still can't tell the difference between feeling hungry or sick. She'll never ask if it's time to eat.

Sunshine was born with a condition that can affect a child's ability to eat. She has suffered trauma related to food and loves to either refuse food or gorge herself, over stuffing to the point of gagging and vomiting. As a toddler more health and developmental issues were discovered. It's been a crazy ride.

Food issues can be so hard, especially when a child is young. There's always this question in the back of your mind. Are they behavioral, sensory related, or medical? How can I tell? The whole process can be so confusing.

Over the years I've learned to work through the process of determining what is wrong in three steps. By the time our fourth child came, I had them memorized and knew exactly what to do. I can't tell you how helpful this process was when trying to figure out all that was going on with Sunshine.

Request Medical Testing

I didn't know what was normal and what wasn't with Dinomite, as he was our first child. Had I known, I would have requested several different tests. Bulldozer, Princess and Sunshine had them all.

First there was the barium study. This helped us identify severe reflux in both Bulldozer and Sunshine.

Second came the swallowing study. Due to Sunshine's Cranial Facial Microsomia she has a submucosal cleft palate. A swallowing study helped us rule out whether or not she was having troubles chewing and swallowing her food. Bulldozer also had a swallowing study done after he was treated for reflux, but still could not eat.

Third came food allergy testing. It starts with a simple blood test that your pediatrician can request, and from there can result in a referral to a pediatric allergist. Little did we know that Bulldozer suffered from over 40 food allergies, some life-threatening. Sunshine has 13. What a difference eliminating those foods from diets can make!

Last came the endoscopy and colonoscopy. Bulldozer had both to rule out other issues within his digestive track. Princess only had the endoscopy, which is where the doctor discovered eosinophils in her stomach. Little did we know these were signs of food allergies. She was then referred to the food allergist as well.

There are of course more medical tests that can be done. Bulldozer went through a whole slew of them but for the life of me I can't remember what they're all called. I try to block them out. His food issues were the worst medically of anyone in the house.

Due to the constant pain and discomfort Bulldozer was in, he wouldn't sleep for the first 18 months of his life. My husband and I would take turns holding him upright on the couch every night all night long, because that was the only way he'd eventually get any sleep.

Bulldozer suffered from severe reflux. The boy lived off of prescription formula for the first two years of his life because he couldn't keep anything else in his body. (We won't talk about how that cost us $500 a month.) Every time he was tested for allergies, more foods that he couldn't eat were discovered, rather than those he could.

Due to the deficiencies in nutrients his body was experiencing because of food issues he developed Pica as a toddler. That was loads of fun. Not! Needless to say we celebrate every year that Bulldozer is alive, well and eating. We never thought we'd make it to his first birthday.

Food issues related to medical problems are real. When trying to determine what's going with your child, see your doctor first. Rule out any complications that may be medical. And if your doctor gives your child a clean bill of health after seeing various test results move forward with pursuing other avenues.

Observe and Document Your Child's Eating Habits

You may have already documented your child's eating habits, likes and dislikes while seeing medical specialists related to food issues. If through that documentation you've discovered medical complexities and the problems are solved, that's wonderful. But if problems are not solved and there are still issues, document again. If you've never documented your child's eating habits, start now.

Most often documenting your child's eating habits for two weeks will give you enough to look at. Sometimes however, you may want more information than this and document for longer periods of time.

Why document your child's eating habits? You're looking for consistencies and patterns. Is there a specific color or texture of food your child doesn't like? Perhaps your child will only eat crunchy brown foods or soft plain white foods? If there are sensory issues, you will notice them as you document.

Once issues are identified and you are confident in your knowledge of what your child will and will not eat, request an evaluation from an occupational therapist. The occupational therapist can confirm your findings and help you develop ways to help your child with sensory related food issues.

Get a Second Opinion

If you have ruled out medical and sensory related food issues, most often you're left with identifying and understanding behaviors. In this case you want to document food habits to find inconsistencies and then get a second opinion.

By second opinion I mean to ask another adult to take over food responsibilities for a specified time period. Does your child respond the same way when the other adult serves them the same food? Is the response consistent when food is given multiple times?

Most often behavioral issues are related to power struggles and control. When the adult in charge of the food changes, it often throws things off enough that the child will not put up a fight.

We love to have babysitters report back how the kiddos ate, if they put up a fight, if they ate all of their food etc. At times we've also had our occupational therapist step in at meal time. It's through these experiences that we were able to determine behavioral issues with food and treat them as such.

Almost every child goes through a phase where they're a picky eater. Most children have food preferences, things they like versus dislike. But when food issues become more than that, you definitely want to follow the steps mentioned above to get to the bottom of the issue.

Request medical testing

Observe and document your child's eating habits

Get a second opinion

Once you're able to understand if food issues are behavioral, sensory related, or medical, you're able to provide the help and support your child needs to be successful at mealtime.

Dinomite is ten years old now and though he still struggles with sensory issues related to food he has come so far. As a toddler and infant he would eat less than five different foods. Now he's eating or drinking a variety of foods in every food group.

Bulldozer no longer needs medication for his reflux. He has outgrown several of his food allergies. Some have become more severe, but we're making progress. We still keep a close eye on him to help him receive the nourishment his body needs. He struggles with sensory issues related to food as part of his autism. But he's alive. He is healthy. He is happy. We couldn't ask for anything more than that.

Princess has outgrown her food allergies. Her stomach has healed. It is a a very rare occurrence that she refuses food anymore, unless it's something she really doesn't like. She's working hard to understand how her body works and to identify different feelings in regards to her stomach.

Sunshine still struggles with her allergies. We're working hard to help her eat her food correctly without refusal or throwing of plates. When she does decide to eat, we've been able to work on rules that she can understand to help lessen behavioral issues. She's come such a long way.

They key to the kiddos' progress was understanding exactly what was wrong in each scenario and implementing the proper strategies to help the child be successful at meal time. Sensory related food issues are handled in a completely different way than those that are behavioral. Each and every medical issue must be handled properly.

Be an advocate for your child. Fight for answers. Food issues can affect a child with special needs in such significant ways.

Asia is a big continent to tackle in a single unit study. There is so much to cover. Perhaps this is why I've procrastinated our Asia Unit for so long. But at last, it is finally here with free printables and everything.

You'll note that for a few activities we focus on individual countries, but for the most part we're focusing on regions or larger concepts of Asian culture. This has proven to be the perfect way to introduce the kiddos to the continent as a whole.

This post contains affiliate links.

This is what we've been up to!

Language

Countries of Asia Syllable Counting Activity

As with most of our continent units (exceptions being Antarctica and Australia), we've created syllable cards for each of the countries in Asia with more than one syllable. We do this to help the kiddos learn to pronounce the names of each country. Breaking names down into syllables does wonders!

Source: Jason and I created the printable for this activity as part of our Asia Unit Printable Pack 1. This is a subscriber's only freebie. For your free copy, click on the subscriber's link at the bottom of the post.

Math

Sweet Treats of Asia Money Match Up

It's always fun to imagine going shopping in foreign lands, especially when it's for sweet treats. The kiddos enjoyed counting coins for sweet treats and matching them to the money cards provided.

Source: Jason and I created the printable for this activity as part of our Asia Unit Printable Pack 1. This is a subscriber's only freebie. For your free copy, click on the subscriber's link at the bottom of the post.

Science

Parts of a Peacock

Learning about animals in Asia is so much fun. This time around we've learned about the parts of a peacock with this fabulous printable. Princess has especially enjoyed creating a Parts of a Peacock book of her own.

Source: The printable for this activity is part of Trillium Montessori's A-Z Continent Bundle. This is a paid printable pack. If you're not familiar with this bundle, I have used parts of it in several of our other continent studies. It is an amazing resource and one that's very well worth the purchase.

If you're interested in learning about the parts of other animals from Asia, you can find parts of an elephant and camel cards in The Pinay Homeschooler's Asia in a Nutshell printable pack. This is a paid printable pack as well, but totally worth it.

Culture & Geography

Regions of Asia Flag Sorting

My kiddos love learning the flags of each country. To help them tackle the flags of Asia we created a sorting activity by region. They have thoroughly enjoyed this!

Source: Jason and I created the printable for this activity as part of our Asia Unit Printable Pack 1. This is a subscriber's only freebie. For your free copy, click on the subscriber's link at the bottom of the post.

Regions of Asia Culture Sort

This activity was the perfect way to introduce the kiddos to little tidbits of cultural information about Asia, once again sorting cards by region. I still smile when I think about the day I presented these cards to the kiddos. All of them enjoyed reading through all of them so much.

Source: The paid printable for this activity was created by Jae at The Pinay Homeschooler as part of the Asia in a Nutshell printable pack. Click HERE to purchase yours today!

Religions of Asia

At a time when religious tolerance is so important, I found it crucial to include this activity as part of our study of Asia. The kiddos matched up the picture cards with descriptions. They were so thrilled to learn more about the different religions around the world.

Source: The paid printable for this activity was created by Jae at The Pinay Homeschooler as part of the Asia in a Nutshell printable pack. Click HERE to purchase yours today!

Foods of Asia

Bulldozer loves to learn about the different types of foods there are available on each continent. We weren't about to disappoint him when it came to Asia. Here the kiddos matched the cuisine with the country flag.

Source: Jason and I created the printable for this activity as part of our Asia Unit Printable Pack 1. This is a subscriber's only freebie. For your free copy, click on the subscriber's link at the bottom of the post.

Biomes of Asia

It is amazing how diverse the terrain of Asia is. A unit study wouldn't be complete without studying the different biomes. The kiddos used these cards as simple nomenclature cards.

Source: The printable for this activity is part of Trillium Montessori's A-Z Continent Bundle. This is a paid printable pack. If you're not familiar with this bundle, I have used parts of it in several of our other continent studies. It is an amazing resource and one that's very well worth the purchase.

Montessori Map of Asia

Princess absolutely loves the Montessori maps. She couldn't wait to get her hands on this map of Asia. Sure enough she's used it regularly! The other kiddos have used it as well.

Practical Life

Chopstick Transfer

The kiddos have been just a tad obsessed with learning how to use chopsticks lately, so it only seemed natural to include an activity where they can practice. They've definitely enjoyed it.

I'm looking forward to the time when we can study each of the different regions of Asia in more detail!

For those interested in the subscriber's only free printables, click on the link below.